After over a week of horrific violent racist and Islamophobic attacks, huge numbers took to the streets in counter-protests on 7 August. Millions of Black and Asian people, especially Muslims, have been living in fear. That is the desired effect of the hardcore far-right agitators stoking violence and intimidation.
The huge scale of the anti-racist protests – over 10,000 in Walthamstow, east London and 3,000 in Newcastle on a Wednesday evening at short notice – should give confidence that the overwhelming majority of people in society reject the dangerous and detestable ideas of the far right. And that there are many prepared to mobilise to defend our communities from racist attacks.
As evidence of the popular revulsion to the far-right violence, even the right-wing Daily Mail newspaper, under pressure to reflect the mood of its readers, carried the front page headline: “Night anti-hate marchers faced down the thugs” on 8 August.
Just 2% of those surveyed by YouGov on 5-6 August “Strongly support the unrest at protests”, including only 5% of those who voted for Reform UK in the general election.
The trend is for survey respondents in Britain to say they feel more comfortable living side by side with Black people Muslims and immigrants. But like on every issue, attitudes and ideas are mixed and complex. A majority want to take stronger measures to exclude illegal immigrants, a majority also want to do more to help refugees, for example.
Is it any wonder? Britain is more diverse than ever, one in five British people are not ‘white British’. Picket lines throughout the strike wave brought together workers of all backgrounds to fight against the Tories and bosses.
Racist division
On the other hand, capitalist politicians of all varieties and backgrounds have used racist scapegoating of immigrants to distract from the failure of their profit system to provide decent pay, homes, services and a future for young people.
Reform’s Nigel Farage is one particularly odious politician who consistently spouts divisive anti-migrant rhetoric. But to focus entirely on him and his party lets the rest of the capitalist politicians off the hook. The Tories spent the last years in government talking incessantly about migrants on small boats and taking part in the expensive political theatre of Rwanda deportation flight plans. In an interview with the Sun ‘newspaper’ ahead of the general election, now Labour prime minister Keir Starmer singled out people from Bangladesh as an example of migrants who should be ‘removed’.
Meanwhile, all of these politicians support privatisation and cutbacks to public services, and do nothing of substance to address falling living standards, or the housing and cost-of-living crises.
This latest surge of racist violence serves as a warning as to what can develop under a Labour government which is continuing with the Tories’ austerity policies – already cutting pensioners’ winter fuel payment and promising billions of pounds of further cuts. The election of five Reform MPs is a warning too.
Protests against racism
The thousands of young people and others marching against racist hate are motivated to bring about change so that we can live in a society free from racism, Islamophobia and division. The way to mobilise maximum numbers to fight for that kind of change is to link the struggle against racism to the fight for jobs, homes, services and a decent future for young people. That’s why the Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales) has taken our placards with the slogan: ‘Jobs, homes and services for all – smash racism’ to the protests.
If the 6.5 million strong trade union movement was to lead a struggle for those things – bringing together workers and young people from all backgrounds – it would give an expression to the huge anger and discontent that exists under the surface in society.
It is that anger and discontent at the establishment that explains the mass abstentionism in elections, some of the electoral support for Reform in the general election, and is also expressed by many of the working-class young people drawn into the fringes of the some of the rioting.
Trade unions must act
Socialist Party members have been campaigning for the trade unions nationally to use their substantial numbers and resources, as well as their political authority, to mobilise members to join the anti-racist protests. Our members who have elected positions on national executives of the trade unions have been pressing the demand for the Trades Union Congress to call a Saturday demonstration, in its own name, calling for jobs, homes and services, not racism. A mass national mobilisation would be a show of strength, boosting workers’ confidence.
It is also necessary to organise to defend our local communities when they come under attack. A feature of the recent far-right attacks has been the huge number of threats and potential targets, fuelled by posts on different social media platforms. This presents challenges in organising counter-protests at short notice.
To meet these challenges, there can be no shortcut past the need to strengthen and consolidate working-class organisation. In many areas, well-organised local trades union councils, with delegates representing thousands of workers in a city or area, have been crucial in mobilising workers to support counter-demonstrations. This needs to be further developed – including trade union stewarding of counter-protests for safety and effective tactical coordination.
The task of defending our communities from racist attacks, building united workers’ struggle for all the things we need, undermining the support for and fighting against reactionary ideas of all kinds, strengthening the level of organisation of the working class and developing a workers’ political voice – all go hand in hand.
We are building a party which takes part in all those struggles, fighting for the socialist transformation of society, based on bringing the commanding heights of the economy and the banks into democratic public ownership. Under the democratic control and management of the working-class majority, society’s wealth and resources could be put to good use to meet all of our needs. That is a necessary component of the fight to end racism and inequality for good.
